Adaptation by Deletogenic Replication Slippage in a Nascent Symbiont.

ABSTRACT: As a consequence of population level constraints in the obligate, host-associated lifestyle, intracellular symbiotic bacteria typically exhibit high rates of molecular sequence evolution and extensive genome degeneration over the course of their host association. While the rationale for genome degeneration is well understood, little is known about the molecular mechanisms driving this change. To understand these mechanisms we compared the genome of Sodalis praecaptivus, a nonhost associated bacterium that is closely related to members of the Sodalis-allied clade of insect endosymbionts, with the very recently derived insect symbiont Candidatus Sodalis pierantonius. The characterization of indel mutations in the genome of Ca Sodalis pierantonius shows that the replication system in this org

SUBMITTER: Clayton AL 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4948707 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature